


Just Another Night

by mybeanieandme



Series: So Happy Together [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bad Jokes, Bad Puns, Baker Harry, Eleanor is leaving, F/M, Fluff, Graphic Design Louis, Graphic Design Zayn, M/M, Zap!, Zerrie Endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-03 15:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1748945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mybeanieandme/pseuds/mybeanieandme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to  <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/1663127/chapters/3528854">The Only One For Me Is You, And You For Me</a><br/></p><p>

<cite>“Sausages are my religion, right Liam?” Niall shot a look at his fiancé.</cite><br/><cite>Liam rolled his eyes and Louis could see him coloring faintly in the cheeks.</cite><br/>



Harry and Louis are having a dinner party for all their friends as a farewell to Eleanor as she leaves to follow her dreams.<br/>
Perrie finds out that she and Zayn have more in common than she could have ever hoped.<br/>
Niall and Liam have a wedding to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Boom. Zap.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I still don't have a beta and I am still American so I apologize for Americanisms and misspellings. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this.
> 
> I'm not sure how many chapters it will be.... 
> 
> This chapter is short!

Zayn stared down at the carnation pink colored cake. “Bon Voyage, Eleanor” it read in a curly script that looked eerily similar to Birds of Paradise- a free font that Louis had been favoring in their graphic design work lately.

“Did you help with the cake, Louis?” Zayn asked casually as Louis emerged from the kitchen with what appeared to be a bean dip and some chips.

Louis smiled his crooked bashful grin setting the food on the table. “I did-,” he nodded. “Does it show? Not as perfect as Harry’s usually are?”

Zayn laughed, “naw, mate. Your boyfriend’s very talented with the piping bag.”

Louis furrowed his brows, trying to think of how that could be a sexual innuendo until he realized that Zayn was actually just talking about the font on the cake. “Font Face,” Louis muttered and Zayn laughed.

“What about your face, babe?” Harry’s arms were laden with finger foods of every shape and fashion as he approached, also from the kitchen.

“It’s perfect, as usual,” Louis told him frankly.

Harry scoffed, “well tell me something I don’t know.” He placed the pinwheels, warmed brie plate, cheese platter (to keep the soft cheese and hard cheeses separate of course), hummus, and the tiny sausages with individual toothpicks that Niall had specifically requested for the occasion (he’d fallen in love with them when Harry’d brought their last dinner double date) and then gave Louis a kiss on his forehead.

“You two are disgustingly cute,” Zayn commented, picking up a toothpicked sausage.

“OI, those t’ings are mine,” Niall growled territorially as he entered Harry and Louis’s apartment.

Zayn flipped him off and shoved another in his mouth causing the Irishman to bolt across the room for the plate.  
Liam drifted in silently behind his boyfriend, holding a bottle of red wine.

“Hello, Liam,” Louis greeted warmly, pulling him into a hug. “What a cordial way to enter a house and greet your friends.” He looked pointedly at Niall.

Liam laughed hugging Louis tightly. “One of us has to have manners,” he said then handed Louis the wine, “Niall did pick this out especially for you- if that makes up for him nearly breaking your serving tray-.”

All eyes drifted to Niall and Zayn who were tugging desperately at the half eaten plate of sausages, Niall was losing his grip and Liam could see a disaster swiftly approaching.

“Well that was very lovely of him,” Louis smiled at Liam. “Maybe next time he will just take us to France with him, right H?”

Harry, however, was too busy watching Zayn and Niall fight like idiots, too amused to go back to fixing dinner. “I didn’t know they were that good,” he said folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

“They are,” Niall assured him, “but now it’s just a matter of principle.” He tugged a bit harder on his end of the platter.

“These sausages are your moral high ground, are they?” Zayn asked.

“Sausages are my religion, right Liam?” Niall shot a look at his fiancé.

Liam rolled his eyes and Louis could see him coloring faintly in the cheeks.

“That was honestly the worst, mate,” Louis laughed. “And I live with the king of puns.”

“At least you acknowledge my pun royalty!” Harry sing-songed as he finally made his way back into the kitchen.

Eleanor knocked on the doorframe, “anyone home?”

All eyes turned to her and it was enough for Zayn to loosen his grip on the platter, Niall pulling it away triumphantly.

“Eleanor!” Niall smiled brightly walking towards her, sausage plate in hand. “What’s the craic?” She hugged him tightly, stealing one of the sausages as she pulled back.

“Confirmed my flight this morning,” she grinned at him. “Barbados here I come!”

Harry applauded loudly, coming in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you, El,” he kissed both her cheeks, gripping her shoulders. “You’re doing it just like you said you would.”

She smiled bashfully; forgetting that one of her earliest conversations with Harry was about her dream of writing a travel book.

The stove beeped and Harry bristled, “sorry! Lasagna needs to be covered!” He darted off and Louis made his move towards her.

“Hey, El,” Louis smiled leaning in for a hug. It was slow and calculated, like you might hug a porcupine. Everything was so different for them and Louis could only hope with time they would drift back into a semblance of the friendship they had had before everything went south.

“Hey, Lou,” she hugged him tightly and that seemed to ease the tension in him.

“Were you all born in a barn?” Perrie’s voice came down the hall. “Are you trying to make the neighbors jealous by wafting the smell down to entrance?”

“Quick shut the door!” Niall said, running to slam it. “If the smell does attract the neighbors Harry’ll invite them in because he’s too nice.”

“Oi!” Harry and Louis said in unison.

~~

Eleanor leaned against the railing of Harry and Louis’s porch with the largest glass of wine available. It was still strange. Harry and Louis’s. She’d been with Louis so long there were still things she was relearning but the heartbreak had helped. She still had a niggling urge to wrap her arm around Louis’s waist when he was standing just close enough but then Harry would come in and the bile would rise up in her as she was reminded of how much it hurt. Sometimes she felt like she still could wrap her arm around Lou. Not as low hung across his hips as she used to, but she could rest it in the middle of his back, in a comforting way the way a friend would.

Zayn opened the door and slid out for a smoke. “Fag?” he offered her.

No, thanks. House is already full of them. Her brain retorted. But that was just the bitterness. She shook her head, erasing the thought and brushing away Zayn’s offer.

“Don’t mind if I do, do you?” Zayn asked but lit up before she responded.

They stood in a comfortable silence as Zayn blew thoughtful puffs at the glass door, watching Perrie nearly double over with laughter at something Louis had said. Eleanor tried not to chug her wine. She could just see into the kitchen window where Harry was placating Niall with a pre-dinner cupcake.

“Is it hard?” Zayn asked, leaning back on his elbows, letting his ashes hit the ground.

“Is what hard?” Eleanor said quietly, looking over to him.

Zayn nodded his head subtly towards the kitchen window and then to were Louis was standing. “Seeing them.”  
Eleanor swallowed another sip of wine before opening her mouth. “Think I’ll take that cigarette now, thanks.”

Zayn chuckled but took out his pack and handed her one, lighting it for her.

She took a long drag. “Yeah. Sometimes,” she answered finally. “It’s weird- right after we were married I could feel something was horribly different. And when that came to light it just made sense.” She let out a laugh as she thought about it.

“What?” Zayn smiled.

“Honestly- and this is going to sound shallow of me,” Eleanor said, taking another drag. “But I’m glad it’s Harry. I mean I’m glad he’s a man.”

Zayn laughed. “Yeah?”

“Well there’s absolutely no way I could compete with that, yeah?” Eleanor’s face broke into a full smile, “if it had been another woman I’d maybe have a chance,” she said but knew it wasn’t true. “But I can’t exactly grow a prick.”  
Zayn’s mouth formed a thin line as he thought, “You’re much braver than me. Don’t think I could do it, honestly.”  
Eleanor gave him a small smile. “Leaving helps,” she said frankly. “Seeing Lou so happy- helps. But mostly the leaving.”

Zayn nodded. “What’s that they say about the best revenge?” he threw his butt down on the deck, crushing it with the ball of his foot.

“What about you?” Eleanor asked, letting that particular comment slide. She didn’t feel like she wanted revenge. “I know you’re not the slag you pretend to be.”

Zayn laughed, “and how do you know that?”

“I used to be there,” Eleanor flicked her ashes onto the deck, watching them flutter into the wind. “When you’d text Louis late at night- asking him how he felt about your paintings.”

“Ah,” Zayn concluded was the only thing he could say, “I can pull.” He insisted.

“I don’t doubt it,” Eleanor laughed. “Jaw line like that, babe. You could have anyone you like any night of the week.” She threw her butt beside Zayn’s stopping on it more firmly than was necessary.

“Yeah? Suppose I could,” Zayn nodded, fingers idling over his pack of cigarettes. Did he need another? He almost felt like he did. If they were to continue this conversation.

It felt easier to him- to just pretend to be what everyone thought he was. He’d never get laid ever if people knew how quiet he usually was. In his apartment, in his glasses, painting until three in the morning, reading Marvel comic books to pass time between bouts of creativity.

He looked through the glass door again and saw Perrie staring at him. She quickly looked away as did he but Eleanor caught them.

“Well, back into the foray as they say,” she said. She finished her wine and opened the door to the sound of Niall’s loudest cackle.

~~

They sat down at the table for dinner. Harry was at the head of the table serving the lasagna, Louis to his right, Perrie on his left. Niall was at the other end of the table in a heated conversation over a Liverpool vs. ManU match with Zayn on his left, while Liam sat to his right feigning an interest in supporting either team as Perrie started talking to him about art. Eleanor slid in comfortably between Liam and Perrie, cutting them off from their conversation about a new art gallery opening.

“It’s really small-,” Perrie picked it up again as Eleanor leaned back slightly, letting their eyes meet again. “It’s the first ever exhibition of this street artist I’ve been following for a few years.”

Louis’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. That was his graffiti girl all right. “I didn’t know you had a street artist you’ve been following, Pez,” he said, sipping his wine.

“Yeah! Zap!” she said enthusiastically. And Zayn’s conversation with Niall at the other end of the table got mysteriously quiet which she didn’t seem to notice. “He hasn’t tagged anything too big yet- but his designs are always thoughtful, you know? Almost as political as Banksy but much more with the pop art. He really likes Batman.”

Louis coughed around his bite of noodles.

“All right, love?” Harry paused his serving to pat his boyfriend on the back.

Louis gave him a thumbs-up. “It’s delicious, babe.”

Zayn was ignoring the whole exchange, trying to reengage Niall as his plate was passed down the row.

“SMELLS AMAZING, MATE,” Niall announced as Zayn was mid-sentence. He gave up. No matter how much Niall cared about football, food would always win in the end.

Liam seemed to notice, giving Zayn a small apologetic smile across the table. “I don’t think Man U has a chance, mate,” he told him. Zayn cracked a smile and rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Zayn,” Louis spoke up, and if looks could kill. “Have you heard of 'Zap!'?”

Zayn gritted his teeth, steely glare lessening as he tried to form some sort of bravado. He was usually fairly good at keeping up a façade, feigning a nonchalance and easy air total apathy. But he had never actually heard anyone talk about-. “Yeah- I’ve seen some of his stuff,” Zayn managed.

Perrie immediately looked at him like he said he was friends with Santa Claus. “Really? No one I know has even heard of him.”

“Zayn’s definitely mentioned him before,” Louis nodded into a sip of wine with an expression that both Harry and Eleanor understood.

“Yeah- he tagged my building a while back,” Zayn tried to offer as an excuse to why he had heard of him and why he would tell Louis anything about it.

“HE DID?!” Perrie couldn’t believe it. “Will you take me to see?”

“They’ve painted already-,” Zayn told her.

“Oh,” her face fell completely.

“I might have a picture on my phone-,” he said, clearly unable to stand how heart broken she looked. “I could show you later?”

“Yes, please!” she grinned wide enough that he couldn’t help but grin also.

Louis looked exceedingly pleased with himself, smirking around his giant mouthful of food. Harry looked exceedingly endeared. Liam and Eleanor looked incredibly confused and Niall- he had lasagna.

~~

Harry suggested cake would be better enjoyed in the living room, and everyone eagerly agreed.

Eleanor, slice of cake in hand, was on her fourth glass of wine, looking at Zayn and Perrie who had nestled in together on the other end of the sofa, sitting closer than was strictly necessary. She picked at the icing flower (“party girl always gets the biggest flower” Harry had said) as she watched them flirt.

“Wow! That was his first Batman, you know?” she was telling him, pointing at the picture on Zayn’s phone.  
Zayn nodded with a small smile, focusing all his attention on his phone like it held the secrets to the universe.

“Zayn?” he finally looked at her, “Would you- maybe like to go see the show?”

“Figure I’d go at some point,” he nodded, hearing Louis cackle behind him.

“I meant with me,” Perrie continued.

“Zayn’d love to,” Louis piped up for him, patting his friend a little too hard on the back.

Eleanor smiled as Perrie gave her a discreet thumbs up as Zayn moved to his phone’s contact page and entered her number.

I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m leaving tomorrow.  Eleanor chanted in her head as she polished off her wine. The happy couples around her could not dampen her spirits, even as she looked at her ex-husband. He looked so genuinely happy, giggling wildly at something Harry had said- or maybe just at Harry in general. He was giggle inducing, she had to admit.

“Refill your glass?” Liam asked, tipping the bottle he was holding towards her cup.

“Oh- no thank you,” she said, covering the opening. “I’ve had a whole bottle all by myself.”  
Liam chuckled, eyes warm, “well someone’s gotta drink my share. Usually it’s Niall but I cut him off twenty minutes ago.”

“And curse you for that,” Niall scolded him.

“You’ve got to get in shape for tour, babe,” Liam kissed his temple, pulling him in by the waist.

“Tour-shmour,” Niall rolled his eyes. “I’m an Irishman. We live-.”

“Drunk as skunks,” Liam finished, rolling his eyes at Eleanor who giggled, “I know, babe.”

Niall went into the kitchen for a second slice of cake as Eleanor distracted Liam talking over travel.

“I’ve got my bag all set by the front door- I’m nervous I haven’t packed correctly,” she confessed, fiddling with her glass.

Liam smiled warmly, “I bet you have- and if not- just an excuse to buy a new wardrobe, right? Niall would pack incorrectly on purpose if I let him- just so he could buy new clothes everywhere we go.”

“I like to be sharp dressed! With lots of hats,” Niall defended himself, new slice of cake in hand.  
Liam rolled his eyes, “babe.”

“Pumpkin,” Niall answered, batting his eyelashes. Liam held his hand out for the plate, but Niall clutched it tighter.

“He’s a tough wrestle over a plate, Li, wouldn’t risk it,” Zayn said, suddenly aware that there were other people in the room besides Perrie.

“It isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last,” Liam frowned, angling his head so his puppy eyes were at maximum-adorable.

“Shite,” Niall handed him the plate with a scowl. “You.”

“Thank you, love,” Liam kissed his forehead, moving past him to take the plate back into the kitchen.

“I better get a blowjob or summat later!” Niall called after him.

“Whoa whoa whoa- whoa. Whoa,” Louis waved his hands back and forth, “over share, mate.”

 


	2. Give A Little Time To me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perrie and Zayn visit the gallery together, Liam and Niall plan their wedding, Eleanor leaves, and Louis's got something on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of art exposition in here for an art installation that doesn't exist. I apologize in advance.

Eleanor sat outside her flat complex on her perfectly sized suitcase, fiddling with the handle on her matching wheeled carry-on. Perrie pulled up two minutes later than their agreed time, which was all right since Eleanor had allotted time for the fact that Perrie was rarely on time. The sun wasn’t even out yet so it was a miracle Perrie was even there at all.

“I’m sorry I’m late, dove,” Perrie called, rushing to pop the trunk and help Eleanor with her bag. She looked perkier than Eleanor would have suspected.

“It’s all right, Pez,” Eleanor cooed. It was far too early in the morning to be cheerful but she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. “Thanks for offering to drive me- I really could have taken a cab.”

“Naw,” Perrie insisted, climbing into the driver side as Eleanor mirrored on the passenger’s. “You’re leaving a whole two bloody months. Course I’m going to see my best girl off.”

She started the engine and joined traffic (or lack-thereof) in the direction of the airport. “I’m going to miss you loads,” she continued.

Eleanor chuckled, “I doubt that. You’ve got a Zayn now.”

“I haven’t got him,” Perrie scoffed, “not yet at least… at least I hope soon- maybe.” She paused. “Plus- no one could replace you, El. You better get that book written and get your butt back here. You’re my best girl friend besides Leigh-Ann and you know she’s no you.”

“Aw, Pez,” Eleanor reached over to squeeze her shoulder as she passed a particularly sluggish sedan.

~~

The airport was mostly empty, her gate being the busiest in the terminal. She purchased a small cuppa at the only open shop, smiling as the bag diffused slowly through the hot water in the paper cup. It would be her last official cup of English tea- despite the present Louis had given her the evening before.

“I know you’re particular about what you drink,” he had said and she wanted to tell him that if she was, he had made her that way. She would have said as much but he continued before she could. “And I just wanted you to have a little taste of home while you’re out- chasing your next big adventure.” His sincerity hurt her heart but eased a tension. They had been friends for so long and there was no one on earth who knew her as well as he did. The gesture made her feel like they could actually be friends again. The dinner party wouldn’t be a final farewell. She wouldn’t be cursing him every time she brought the translucent caramel colored liquid to her lips.

“Good morning,” a crackly voice came over the intercom, it was bright and excited but not non-authentically so for the hour. “This is the first boarding call for flight 950 service to New York City with continuing service to Bridgetown, Barbados. There are only a handful of you today so after we board our First Class Cabin passengers and our premium Star Members we will be making an all boarding call.” The woman paused. “At this time we would like to welcome aboard out First Class-.”

She continued on and Eleanor watched the two people in first class and the one Star Member walk the long way towards the plane. There _weren’t_ really that many people on this plane. Seemed odd. Earliest morning flight to New York. That seemed like it should be full of important-type business people, which, she guess, were most of the passengers judging by their clothes and lack of large carry-on luggage. Then again it was a Tuesday.

She stood up as they called for everyone else to board. The freakishly perky woman at the gate scanned her pass and welcomed her with a blinding smile.

She was very tempted to stick something up one of the men’s noses in first class, as he sat, head tilted back, arms crossed firmly on his chest, and sleep mask in place. The other two people who had pre-boarded were asleep was well. Eleanor had no such plans, as nice as it would be to sleep, she was far too excited.

The “economy” cabin was sparsely filled as she walked to her seat.

There was a devastatingly handsome man sitting by the window of what should be her row- but that couldn’t possibly be correct. She checked her ticket again.

“Lucky number 13, eh?” the man said with a smile. Eleanor’s heart fluttered but she kept her cool.

“I guess,” she shrugged with a grin. She pulled out her notes for her book before zipping her luggage. “Lucky I’m not the superstitious type.”

He chuckled. “You’re not?” he asked, “I am. It’s why I pick this row every time.”

“Do you really?” she asked, hoisting her carry-on into the overhead bin and taking her seat.

“Not at all,” he laughed and she nearly punched him in the arm, but laughed instead.

She looked at the papers in her hand and the empty seat between them. “Do you mind?” she asked, gesturing to place them there.

“No- not at all,” he assured her.

“I’m just- writing this book,” she explained, placing the stack in an order that could only make sense to her.

“You’re writing a book?” the man asked, sounding keenly interested, he looked like he wanted to say something else to keep up the conversation. “That’s good- because- I can read,” he managed.

Eleanor had to bite back a smile, turning her head to the side and pretending to cough as she tried not to laugh.

She cleared her throat, turning back to him, “do you know how long the flight is?”

“About seven hours,” he told her, pleased he hadn’t totally twatted up. “Plenty of time.”

She wondered if he had meant to say that last part out loud and just let it go.

Yes. Seven hours would be plenty of time.

  
~~

Niall was grumpy as they strolled down the aisle of the Tescos.

“Are you feeling all right?” Louis asked, prodding his friend in the shoulder. He hadn’t honestly been paying all that much attention- there were- other things- on his mind. But Niall was being unusually quiet and hadn’t placed anything in the trolley since they passed the fruit and veg section.

“Torture,” Niall proclaimed, a little too loudly.

“Torture? You love grocery shopping,” Louis said, pausing their trolley in front of the biscuits aisle, Niall’s favorite aisle.

“Yeah, when I’m not “gettin’ in shape for the tour”,” Niall air-quoted around his words and did a voice that vaguely sounded like Liam’s drawl.

“Ah,” Louis nodded, “Fiancé busting your balls?”

“And not in the fun way!” Niall exclaimed. Louis’s face flushed at this. Right. Mind on other things.  Niall smiled at him with a knowing look in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if wanting to follow up on that thought but Louis cut him off.

“Ice cream!” Louis told him quickly. “You can buy ice cream and keep it at mine and Harry’s and we won’t tell Liam. Promise!”

Niall beamed at him. He had been craving a sundae for the past three weeks and surely a little ice cream wouldn’t hurt. He had been so good this far. He grabbed the trolley from Louis and ran to the freezer section, Louis trailing behind.

Vanilla would work. He grabbed a container and darted off to the aisle with all the accoutrements. Sprinkles and hot fudge. That’s the stuff.

Louis had also been particularly quiet but Niall hadn’t said anything, as he wanted to fester in his own grump. But now his friend was distant. Staring at an end-cap covered in bags and bags of crisps.

“Niall- can I ask you something?” Louis asked, pretending to contemplate two different flavors of crisps before deciding against the barbeque.

“You just did, mate,” Niall laughed adding jars of caramel and butterscotch and butterscotch to the trolley.

“How big is Liam?” Louis asked with a funny tin in his voice. Niall concluded he was trying to be nonchalant but he was failing miserably so.

“Which part of Liam are we talking about?” Niall asked, tilting his head curiously, playing along.

Louis’s tomato red face answered Niall quiet clearly.

“Why the sudden curiosity?” Niall asked, tilting his head the other way.

“N-no reason,” Louis told him, grabbing the trolley back and guiding it away.

“Really? Just asking about my fiancé’s shlong for conversation’s sake?” Niall had to laugh.

Louis reddened further. “No.”

“Already looking ta have a three-way?” Niall continued, curious to see just how red he could get Louis’s face to turn.

“No- we haven’t even had a two-way-,” Louis said quickly, wishing desperately for Niall to stop.

Niall’s eyes went wide and Louis realized what he had said. “YOU HAVEN’T HAD SEX YET?!” he nearly yelled in surprise.

“Oh my god,” Louis wondered how many times he would have to figuratively die in this grocery store to actually die there.

He pushed the trolley to the till, grabbing Niall and pulling him along. “Have you really not had sex yet?” Niall asked.

“LOOK! Gum that tastes like ice cream! You can have a cover for when Liam asks why you taste like ice cream,” Louis spoke over him, grabbing a pack of “Neapolitan” and putting it on the belt.

~~

“Babe,” Liam called as Niall entered their flat. He was sitting at their kitchen table surrounded by binders and binders of wedding planning materials that Niall’s PA had put together.  “Gay” wedding magazines still didn’t seem to be a thing so these would have to do. “I don’t think lilacs will be in season- but we can have them brought in.”

Niall smiled at him, leaning against their kitchen island. Liam was always the planner. He was ready to go to city hall, sign the marriage certificate, and celebrate with a pint (or eight) at the pub around the corner.

But that wouldn’t be good PR and there wouldn’t be photos to be “officially released”. And- it wasn’t what Liam wanted. He was more traditional. He wanted a big church occasion with all their extended family and most of their friends and a gorgeous reception.

“This wedding is perfect,” Liam had told him at Lou and El’s wedding as they slow danced to the only happy Carpenter’s song. Even if that marriage hadn’t worked out, Niall did have to admit the wedding itself was lovely. He wanted to give Liam that. Wanted to see that look in his eyes, soft honey brown like he was so in love he couldn’t stand it with the perfect setting behind him. Hell, he would wear a dress if that’s what Liam wanted.

“If you’d like,” Niall told him sincerely, “It’s whatever you want.”

“I just thought if we were going with purple-,” Liam finally looked up at him. “You all right, babe?”

“Yeah,” Niall nodded, “Just thinking about how much I love you.”

Liam blushed slightly, standing up from the table and moving to wrap his arms around Niall. “I love you too, babe.” He kissed him softly. “Mmm- you taste-,” his eyes narrowed.  “Sweet. Niall, you taste like ice cream.”

“Ice cream flavored gum!” Niall pulled the pack out of his pocket. “Louis and I found it at the store- t’ought it would help curb the cravings?”

Liam grinned, “Niall! I’m proud of you!” He pulled Niall into a warm hug.

 _Shite._ Niall would now feel guilty for the rest of his life for lying to him. He would tell him- after the tour- that he was cheating on the diet with Harry and Louis’s kitchen- speaking of-

“Harry and Lou haven’t had sex yet,” Niall told him.

“That- was a bit random,” Liam cleared his throat and pulled back to look at Niall’s face. Then he realized what Niall had said. “Wait- seriously?”

That was more the reaction Niall was hoping for. He nodded emphatically.

“Like anything at all?” Liam needed clarification.

“Based on the level of blushing after my line of questioning in the car- I’d say affirmative on blowjobs, hand jobs, and some light fingering,” Niall said, thinking about it.

“Huh,” Liam said, like it wasn’t odd to talk about your fiancé’s best friend and boyfriend’s love life in the middle of the day while you picked out swatches for napkins. Because for them it honestly wasn’t.

They all joked that Liam was the responsible daddy (not like that- well also like that but only for Niall) of the group but Niall tended to be the behind the scenes mother hen. He had fingers in all the pots and kept tabs on everyone out of genuine concern. 

At first, Liam didn’t know what to make of it. He thought it was weird and gossipy to talk about their friends behind their backs. But it was never malicious. Anything they’d ever said they would tell their friends to their face. Niall needed the people around him to be okay. Being famous made it difficult to make friends, genuine friends, so it was all the more important to keep the ones who already knew you before you turned and kept treating you the same. (“Like being a vampire,” Niall had said.   “It’s nothing like being a vampire, Ni,” Liam just shook his head and laughed. )

“Do you think he’s struggling with the gay thing?” Liam suggested.

“You know- I don’t t’ink it’s that,” Niall said thoughtfully, a wicked smile spreading across his face. “He did ask me how big you were today.”

Liam looked confused. “Like how tall?”

Niall waggled his eyebrows.

“Oh!” Liam gaped. “W-why was he asking about that?”

“I reckon it has not’ing to do with you, babe. No offence,” Niall started. “Cock in the arse is a daunting prospect and Harry’s got big feet.”

“Mm,” Liam nodded solemnly. “Wait- have you been assessing Harry for- cock size?”

Niall laughed, “babe. I’m taken, not blind.”

“Yeah? You like them tall and lanky like that?” Liam asked, a bit of bite in his voice.

“Naw. Tall, sure. But I like a muscular guy who can pick me up and rough me up a little,” Niall said coyly.

“Yeah?” Liam crowded Niall into the refrigerator.

“Yeah,” Niall grinned, wrapping his arms around Liam’s neck, kissing him hard as Liam hoisted him up against the cold appliance, wedding planning completely forgotten for the moment.

 

~~

Perrie worried her bottom lip outside of the gallery. Wanting to be one of the first in the gallery on opening night, she was fourth place in the incredibly long queue. She’d told him there would be a line for such a highly anticipated opening. But Zayn had shrugged it off- as much as one could shrug something off over a text- saying no one had really heard of Zap! anyway and probably no one would come.

She struck up a conversation with the two women in front of her. They were in their mid-forties, businesswomen, and best friends from primary school. They were wildly successful and looking to invest their money in art from an up-and-comer. Tabitha, the taller of the two friends seemed more interested in the work intellectually and anthropologically- how it reflected the mood of society today. While Emma, the more vocal of the two, just wanted to see who Zap! really was.

“I’ve heard he’s gorgeous,” she told them.

“Really?” Perrie chuckled, “I thought no one had seen him.”

“Someone’s got to’ve,” Tabitha insisted. “The gallery owner would have to know what he looked like!”

“Do you suppose he’s here?” Perrie ventured, “What if he is just waiting in line with everyone else?”

Emma scoffed at this, “he’d have to be inside, yeah? Doing finishing touches.”

Zayn finally appeared, mid their conversation, five minutes before opening.  By this time the line went around the block and guaranteed a two-hour wait for those who would exceed the building’s maximum occupancy limit.

“Wow,” he said, awestruck.

“Told you we needed to get here early!” Perrie nudged him gently in the arm as he joined her in line, the people behind her glaring holes in her head. Tabitha and Emma laughed.

“Well-,” Zayn stopped himself from saying “I wasn’t worried about getting in” and instead goes with, “You were right, Pez.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, love, women are always right,” Emma told him.

Perrie’s eyes went wide as she opened her mouth to correct her.

“So my mother keeps telling me,” Zayn offered a small smile.

“A momma’s boy, eh?” Tabitha grinned and suddenly Perrie wondered if they were drunk or just trying to embarrass them deliberately. “He’s a keeper,” she told Perrie.

A man in a dark suit opened the aluminum door and announced they would be letting people in momentarily. Tabitha and Emma squealed, and started talking animatedly about everything they were going to buy.

“Friends of yours?” Zayn asked Perrie quietly.

“Well I thought they might replace you as my date if you never showed up,” the women squealed even louder as the man unhooked the velvet rope and the line surged forward. “But I think I’d be the third wheel.”

Zayn flushed slightly at the mention that this was, in fact, a date. “Darn, really. Guess I’ll have to keep you all to myself then.”

He placed a nonthreatening hand beneath Perrie’s elbow as they started up the long flight of stairs to the actual gallery space, guiding her away from the artist statement and initial impact wall, through a room painted pitch black with- a bioluminescent vampire squid? and other terrifying creatures- through a hall of distorted mirrors to a third smaller room that was painted mostly a bright pepto pink. The furthest wall seemed to be made up entirely of dead Elmoes- or something.

“Zayn-,” she started, frowning deeply at the bulging plastic x’d-out eyes of the muppets pinned to the wall, “we’re missing the bits at the beginning- I waited in line to see the whole thing-.” She absolutely was whining. But she had every right. She had waited an hour and a half to get in here and he was messing everything up.

“Just- wait,” Zayn told her slowly, turning to face the hall of mirrors they had just come through. The intensity of his eyes quieted her immediately and she watched.

She hadn’t noticed but along with the fun-house shapes- the mirrors were painted with signs and symbols of comic heros and villains, place strategically that you would only be able to see them from this angle- looking back.

Tabitha’s and Emma’s voices were slowly making their way through the space, one of them shrieked, and their pace quickened and Perrie stood in awe at what unfolded. As the women walked, their faces fractured in the mirrors producing a frame for frame scene of a comic. Emma was Doctor Doom and Tabitha was Magneto and in the mirrors it would appear they were having a domestic.

“You two sure went quick through,” Emma commented, seeing them staring as they came in the room.

“Scared of the sea creatures, love?” Tabitha asked.

Perrie furrowed her brows, unsure still of what had happened with the mirrors.

“That’d be me,” Zayn raised his hand. “She lead me through like a champ.” He grinned at Perrie who immediately played along.

“Poor, chap, can’t take him anywhere. Can’t swim for shite,” she commented, patting his leather clad shoulder.

The women laughed at them and turned their attention to the crucified Elmo in the center of the wall behind them.

“How did you know to come in here to see that?” Perrie hissed as more people filtered into the room. Too many of them came down the hallway at once and the illusion of the comic was too distorted with all the faces to be as fluid as before and the hallway just became mirrors.

“How did you know I couldn’t swim?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t change the sub-,” she started, “Really? You can’t?”

“Not a single doggy paddle,” Zayn chuckled, shaking his head slowly.

She laughed at this and they laughed together until it became a comfortable silence, under the watchful eyes of Elmo Christ, in the company of a hundred murmuring strangers.

It was nice. Zayn- was nice. At first she had always been attracted to him because he seemed like a knob. He was full of himself and confident and like he was probably a really good shag. Which, at the time, that is what Perrie had wanted. But now- there was this whole other side. This- art loving- dumb joke-making side to Zayn. This side that couldn’t swim.

“Suppose we could start at the beginning now-,” he said. They pushed their way back through the now crowded mirrored hallway, through the black ocean bottom, to the impact wall that consisted of a single Batman symbol being struck by lightning with a bold onomatopoeic “ZAP!”

Perrie smiled brilliantly, eyes watery. “God, I just can’t even believe I’m here.”

Zayn stared at her. “You- you really like his work? Don’t you?”

She nodded, “absolutely.”

She lead him this time, through the displays, asking insightful questions that Zayn actually had plausible answers to.

“I just don’t understand why he’d cluster all the sea creatures together in one corner in such a large room,” Perrie said as they walked back through the mirrors. “It’s so sparse in there. Especially with the black light.”

Zayn shrugged, “maybe he’s trying to make a statement about the world and living blindly through it.”

“What?” Perrie asked, stopping him with a hand on his chest and genuinely looking at him. “You mean we’re those terrifying fish at the bottom of the ocean who can’t see anything? All clustered together around a squid that feeds on tiny particles that float to the seafloor?”

Zayn laughed, “well when you put it that way-.”

She thought about it further, “I mean- I could see it.” Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “All those fish are really looking for is food and to procreate. They can’t see what’s right in front of them. And when you look at it like that- they aren’t so different from people.”

Zayn- beamed at her, eyes full of mirth. She got it. She understood. “Now what about Jesus Elmo?” he asked.

Jesus Elmo was clearly a statement about media consumption and the distortion of religion.

“He er- could have done another prophet- imagine Mohammad?” Zayn suggested, “but that would have made it more political- controversial-.”

“Jesus was the clear choice,” Perrie nodded, “it speaks to the Americanization of the world and all the Elmos beneath him are almost worshiping him- ironically- as a false idol- and then sadly as they all were once the Elmo of choice. Replaced by the brand new model.” Perrie sighed fondly at a “Tickle-Me-Elmo” with it’s arms outstretched in reverence to it’s crucified “savoir”. “It’s funny- because this piece could also speak to pop culture as a replacement for religion. I mean- I know we certainly didn’t go to church every Sunday- but I sure as hell watched Sesame Street every morning.”

Zayn wanted to kiss her.

They walked through two more rooms of installations, discussion the subtle political statements in the works until they finally reached a gallery space full of paintings one could actually purchase and take home. Five of them already had bright red dots over the price, effectively screaming to anyone passing that they were sold.

“Wow,” Perrie grinned. “I’m really proud of him- you know- whoever he is.”

“You are?” Zayn asked, neutrally.

“Yeah- it takes guts to do what he does and he’s- I mean- look,” she looked teary eyed. “He’s going to be huge.”

She looked almost reverent and Zayn needed to touch her- to reassure her some way. He stretched out his hand to hold hers but he was interrupted.

“I didn’t mean ta make you cry, Pez,” Niall’s voice rang out from behind them.

“N-Niall?” Zayn asked.

“And me,” Liam piped up.

“Liam!” Perrie smiled, turning to hug them both and giving them each a kiss on the cheek. “What on earth are you two doing here?”

“Well you told Liam all about it and we just _had_ to see what the fuss was about,” Niall grinned, looking pointedly at Zayn. “Plus- Louis said it would be worth it to go on opening night before all the good paintings were gone.”

“Did you buy one?” Perrie asked, “did you buy this one?!” She pointed at a large genre painting of Loki playing horseshoes with Thor. Thor looked quite angry that his brother had 8 horseshoes to throw and he had none.

“I did,” Niall nodded, “early wedding present to my darling Liam.” He wrapped his arm around the small of Liam’s back and gave his cheek a peck.

“Thanks, babe,” Liam grinned bashfully, patting Niall’s chest. “I do love Loki.”

“What about you, Zayn?” Niall asked, “you like Loki?”

Zayn blinked at him, “he’s all right, I guess.”

Perrie wandered away from them to look at a small painting in the corner. A fumbling baby Bambi with a clock like Flava-Flav hanging around it’s neck, and a skunk laughing wildly, Tupac bandana secured around it’s black-and-white stripped head.

Zayn found his way over to her, leaving the lovebirds to coo over their new purchase.

“Are you a fan of rap music?” he hesitated to break her concentrated silence.

“Hm?” she didn’t look away from the painting. “Oh- yes. I do- enjoy rap music. And I see what he was going for- I think- the ridiculousness of some rap icon’s need to adorn themselves when at the core of it it’s the political message of the music that makes it so good-,” she waved her hand as if to dismiss her own explanation, “but- and you know it’s strange.”

“Yes?” Zayn pressed, wanting Perrie to explain every painting to him over and over again.

“This deer and this skunk look just like Harry and Lou,” Perrie concluded.

“HA,” Zayn let out a pained laugh.

 

~~

“What are your opinions on ice cream?” Zayn asked as they stood at Niall and Liam’s painting for the second time.

“I like ice cream,” Perrie told him skeptically.

“Would you like to go get some with me?” Zayn asked.

“Did someone say ice cream?” Niall jumped in.

“No,” Liam cut the conversation off right there.

“But Li,” Niall looked heartbroken.

“Please, babe,” Liam pulled him in, whispering something in his ear that had his expression right turned around.

“Have a great evening, we’ll be seeing you!” Niall waved at them, pulling Liam along with him.

Perrie laughed awkwardly. “Well- I would love to get some ice cream with you,” she told him, “even if Niall and Liam, who were never invited, well especially- if they can’t go with us.” She smiled at him, “no offence to them. Of course.”

“Of course,” Zayn agreed. “Shall we then?” he gestured to the exit.

“Seems like a fight to get through,” she commented. They’d been in the gallery for almost three hours and the crowd only seemed to get thicker.

“Every fight is worth it- when the end result is ice cream,” Zayn informed her. She looked skeptical. “I know a short cut.” He confessed.

She giggled and held out her hand, “lead on then, Mr. Malik.”

He held her hand, wondering if she could feel that crackle of a spark too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eleanor will no longer be showing up in this fic. She's off to have her own adventure : ) and will probably now only appear in brief mentionings.
> 
> [And the line about bioluminescent vampire squid is a reference to one of my favorite fics. It's Ziam with side Larry. It's amazing and beautiful. ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1125642?view_full_work=true)


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